'No confidence' vote illustrates divide between Indianapolis' police union, judicial system
The president of Indianapolis’ police union reported a severe lack of trust among local law enforcement in Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears and the court system.
In a confidence vote held among officers across the county, the local Fraternal Order of Police reported Monday the majority said they have "no confidence" in Mears – a Democrat who's up for election this year – as well as the Marion County courts system.
President Rick Snyder said 98.9% of officers who voted had “no confidence” in Mears and 96.5% had no confidence in the courts system, while pointing to several examples of violent incidents in Indianapolis as the reason why. He declined to say how many members voted, but said it was "hundreds upon hundreds" and a representative sample of their membership.
Snyder further said the vote included officers from every law enforcement agency throughout the county and from the Lawrence Police Department, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Beech Grove, Speedway, Cumberland, Indianapolis International Airport, Southport, IUPUI, University of Indianapolis, Butler, Indianapolis Public Schools and Township School Police and other agencies.
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The vote was a symbolic gesture indicating the divide between police within Marion County, the local prosecutor and the judicial system.
“I do not report this lightly. I can assure you, our membership has not taken it lightly,” Snyder told reporters. “It has really left me heartbroken in a lot of ways. I have never seen our Marion County criminal justice process in the shambles that it’s in right now.”
As a result, Snyder said the union will again ask to meet with officials in the Statehouse, along with the chief justice of Indiana’s Supreme Court. He also said they will, for the first time, ask for assistance from Gov. Eric Holcomb and the executive branch.
He emphasized, however, that the results don’t mean police officers will stop working.
“We are simply asking everyone to get behind us, get with us, to make sure that the rest of the system does their job,” he said.
Judges: 'We are part of the community'
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the vote. "The women and men of the prosecutor’s office remained focused on the work," a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also declined to comment.
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The Marion Superior Court issued a statement Monday noting that judges are limited in what they can say about cases because of Indiana Supreme Court rules of conduct.
"There are about 160,000 newly filed cases in Marion County each year," the statement read. "Each case must be decided on its own merits according to the law. And that is what our judges are committed to doing each day."
The statement went on to say that the courts "welcome feedback on how to improve the system," but said that "attacking the judiciary as lenient is counterintuitive."
"As judges, we live and work in Marion County. It’s where we raise our families, get groceries, and cheer on our favorite sports teams," the statement said. "We are a part of the community and part of the team working to pursue access to justice for all while maintaining safety and security."
FOP president points to multiple officer shootings
As evidence of an allegedly inept judicial system, Snyder pointed to the February shooting of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Thomas Mangan by a suspect with an outstanding warrant for a parole violation from a conviction for robbery and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Mangan was shot in the throat and is still recovering from his injury.
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He also pointed to the decision by Mears' office not to file a red flag petition against the man who carried out the FedEx shooting in 2021. Earlier this year Snyder announced that the FOP is endorsing Mears' opponent Cyndi Carrasco, a Republican, for Marion County Prosecutor.
But the "straw that broke the camel's back," Snyder said, was when an Elwood police officer was fatally shot multiple times July 31 by a man who had previously been convicted in Marion County for shooting at Indianapolis police officers 16 years ago.
Carl Roy Webb Boards II has been charged with murder and other crimes in connection with the violent shooting death of Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz. The Madison County Prosecutor's Office is pursuing the death penalty against him.
More:Prosecutors to seek death penalty in killing of Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz
Shahnavaz was found in his patrol car by law enforcement early on the morning of July 31. He had multiple bullet wounds, and his gun was still holstered. He was 24.
After Shahnavaz's death, Snyder made public comments condemning Marion County judge Mark Stoner for allegedly giving a "lenient modified sentence" to Boards in a remarkably similar case from 2006.
Boards was convicted of criminal recklessness and other violent crimes in 2007 after shooting at Indianapolis police officers following a traffic stop. Stoner sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment.
Local lawyers defend Stoner
In a news release earlier this month, the Indianapolis Bar Association criticized Snyder for the remarks and claimed Boards' sentence of 25 years imprisonment was "neither lenient nor modified." The local attorneys association noted that Boards did not receive the maximum sentence possible in 2007, but the sentence he did receive was "near the maximum permitted by Indiana law."
Boards had requested multiple times to have his sentence modified, the association said, but those requests were denied. In at least one request to change his 2007 sentence, Boards argued he was not "nefarious" but someone struggling with bipolar disorder, according to an Indiana Court of Appeals memorandum decision from 2008.
The judge who authored that decision wrote that Boards claimed he was "patrolling Indianapolis for terrorists," and that he shot at the two Indianapolis police officers following a vehicle pursuit "only because he did not want them to interfere with his protective mission." He had consumed ecstasy at the time of the shooting, the judge wrote.
In that decision, the appeals court denied Boards' request for a sentence modification because it determined 25 years was not "inappropriate."
"In light of the dangerous situation created by Boards, we are amazed that no serious injuries or deaths resulted to police or bystanders," the decision states.
'A lot of frustration brewing'
Boards was eligible for release in August 2019, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. His time served was cut in half because of a credit time system enshrined in state law that allowed prisoners to receive a day of credit for every day of good behavior while incarcerated.
The Indiana Department of Correction and Marion County Community Corrections screened Boards for transfer to a community transition program, and he was released from prison in April 2019. Judge Stoner signed off on that transfer.
More:Judge explains why Officer Shahnavaz's alleged killer had been let out of prison early
Stoner declined to comment to IndyStar.
Rebecca Geyer, president-elect of the Indianapolis Bar Association, said they decided to issue a statement condemning Snyder's comments because they "want to make sure people are hearing the facts about each case."
"I understand that there's a lot of frustration brewing, and certainly when lives are lost (in) tragic circumstances," she told IndyStar Monday before the vote of confidence results were announced. "But we as attorneys in this area are really advocating for there to be an appropriate conversation among the parties, so that we can solve the things that are underlying these issues within our community."
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
Contact Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Vote shows divide between Indianapolis police union, judicial system
